Ep. 45: Essential Offseason Training: Mastering Precision Long-Range Shooting

a three part series on summer prep. Now, I know it's not summer yet, but I want to lay out some things that we can do during the summer, including things that cover rifle shooting, physical fitness, and bow shooting. So a little bit of something for everyone. This week, we're going to tackle precision extended rain shooting. I want to include everything you need to know to get set up and ways to practice. I want to cover the basics of shooting further and give you practical tips to

make the perfect shot in hunting situations. But first, I want to share a story of a mountain white tail hunt I took last season. The sunt takes place in southwest Montana. Now, it had just been the end of the first week of the rifle season and I guided the whole week, actually packed out quite a few elk and was fairly tired, but on my days off, I do what I like to do, go hunting. So before the next group of hunters came in, my wife and I decided to go out and have a look around.

I actually had a cow elk tag, so I thought, well, maybe you know, we might see a cow. Who knows and she had a deer and elk tag and everything, so we just just decided let's go out and see what we can find. We got out there just right before daylight, normal glassing spot I started glassing and Zach really looking for elk, and way off in the distance, about a mile and a half away, on the edge of this one opening, I saw some deer and I

could tell that they were white tails. So I got my spotting scope out, started looking and there was a few dos and two bucks in there. Start kind of pushing the doughs around, chasing the dos, and there was one what looked like a pretty decent buck. So we decided let's go get a closer look. We end up moving pretty quick and cutting the distance about halfway, setting up the scope again, and I see that there's a

pretty good buck in there. For this for the area that we hunt, we don't really get a lot of white tails. It's more mule deer country, but you can't really hunt mule deer unless you draw special tags. So they're like, oh sweet, there's two bucks in there, pretty good bucks. And I thought, no, let's try to get

Danielle a deer while they're over there. Trouble wasn't moving around a lot, and the hill that they were on was really steep and pretty high up there, so I didn't want to go on the hill that they wrapped. Plus the way the wind was going just wouldn't allow that approach. So we're gonna come in. They were kind of onto this now our face, and we were going to come in on the snowy south face where we could see the whole hill and hopefully get a good

steady shot across the canyon. It's the best way because you get I've I've actually stocked animals on this particular hill before, and it's so steep that you can't really see them where they're at below you. So if they've moved and you don't have a good reference there aren't there quick enough, then they're just gonna be gone. You'll never know where they went. But if you across the canyon. You've just got this great view of the whole hillside and you can sneak in, slip in, and make a

shot across the canyon. So we work our way up. By the time we get over there, it's a little bit later. There's quite a bit of deadfall. We're walking through on the south side, and just like a lot of snow as well. Actually, the week before was super cold, like the temperatures dropped, and I actually think it's white maybe kicked off the rut a little bit early. Most of the time, the white tails don't start chasing like that until about a week or two later, but they were.

They were getting pretty hot and heavy after it. I was hoping that those doughes would keep in that area and maybe keep them distracted. But four they moved off into one of the timbered sides. So we work our way up. We're in the snow. We don't see the deer, but we get about to where I planned from across the way, glassing of where we might be able to see him from. We sit down and get set up and I see a buck pop out down below us.

I get my binoculars on it, and it's not the bigger buck, but I think, well, there's is a dough with him, so maybe that bigger bucks right around here. So we sit and wait and watch, and as we're watching that, a bigger buck comes out up the hill aways chasing some other doughs and then stops and stands there. So I look at him and I'm like, Okay, it's a little bit further than I was thinking, and I definitely wanted to make sure that my wife could get

a good shot on the deer that we're chasing. So I range the deer and I'm thinking, now, okay, he's up towards the top of the mountain. And the trouble is, by the time we get over to where he's at, he's definitely gonna be gone bedded for the day. So I tell Daniel, I'm like, okay, that bigger bucks up there. We could wait and see what happens, or you know,

you could take this this other buck. She's like, well, we've come all the way, why don't you try to get that bigger deer, you know, because it was just a little bit out of her range that she felt comfortable with. And I was like, oh, you know, I like to stalk in and get closer. She's like, yeah, but you've got this gun that you set up for shooting far you practice all the time, you could definitely shoot that deer. I was like yeah, She's like, well,

then shoot it. I think she was just excited to see see the buck and wanted me to get a deer as much as I wanted her to get a deer. So I said, okay. I just said, all right, I'll shoot the deer. So I got set up with my pack. The hill was pretty steep, so I took my trekking poles and crossed the straps of the trek and poles to make a good shooting sticks out of him. Then I used my pack on my back and then her

pack under my shooting elbow with my knee up. I mean, I was just like locked in steady range the deer, and he just was in that position. Dear do this. Sometimes they'll be chasing deer and then they just kind of stop and they just stare off into the distance forever. And he was just standing on the hillside, perfectly broadside, stoic, not moving. I ranged the deer, and then of course, as soon as I range and we get set up he just starts walking again toward where those does disappeared.

I know, all right, it's gonna be now or never. If he stops again, this is gonna be the time. So he walks, walks, and then stops again. I range him, confirmed the range check. My actually had my ballistic app open and just he hadn't moved much. But I made a quick adjustment on the dial of my scope, settled in behind his shoulder, slowly squeezed the trigger just like the thousands of shots I've taken practicing shooting, pull the trigger,

and the buck just drops, perfect shot. Well, as that happened after the report of the rifle, the other deer moved up from a canyon down below us, halfway between the deer that I just shot and where we were sitting, and that deer just stops on the hill site kind of looks around and then goes to feeding. And I'm like, look at Daniel, and like, do you want to shoot that buck? Just like yeah, So we switched positions on

the rifle reload. I arranged the deer just the dial for this range, and I'm like, all right, the guns set, it's exactly where you want to shoot. Just put it right behind his shoulder. Pick that spot and just kind of talk her through the shot. She looks steady, she's steady, She squeezes the trigger, perfect shot, buck drops, rolls down the mountain. We just within I don't know, a couple of minutes of each other, just shot two bucks across the canyon with the same rifle, just adjusting for the

two different ranges. You know, we're pretty excited. This is her second white tail buck, and it just happened to be at the top of the mountain where she shot her first white tail was at the top of the mountain in Elk country, where we don't really see white tails that often. I mean, there are plenty of white tails around, but to get them up in the mountains where you're normally chasing elk er mule there is just

pretty cool, pretty fun for us. So we go down and it actually takes us quite a while to get down through the there's actually a creak in the bottom. It was pretty nasty with all the snow and dead

fall and everything. Start walking up. We get to her buck, nice little white tail buck, and then we keep climbing up the mountain to where mine is and we decided that we were gonna try to get them both together because I figured, well, we could cut mine up here, but it's downhill, so we drug my buck down to the other deer. That way we could just process them at the same time together and get a photo and

everything and then pack them out. And it's pretty cool because my mom and dad actually happened to be up at the same time as well. So we called them. We're like, hey, we got I think, I don't even remember if i'd service and m I send them an in reach message bucks down and they ended up working their way over to us to give us a hand packing them out. They cut up the deer, packed the deer out, and it was just a great day getting a buck like a double with my wife across canyon

in the mountains on some white tails. When I introduced this week's podcast, I think I call it precision extended range shooting, and what I'm really talking about. Other terms for it could be long range shooting, could be precision shots,

further shots, shooting further whatever you want to call it. Now, I know that there are a lot of I mean, there's there's just so many sides to everything, and you know, it's like, you can't talk about anything in hunting sometimes without it offending someone or someone else saying that it's wrong or this is right or whatever. That's not what I want to get into. What I want to get into is how to make you a better shot, so no matter what the yardage is, you can make a good, clean,

ethical shot. So before we get into it, I will talk a little bit about the ethics and kind of

define some of this stuff. You know, if I think about when I started hunting, or probably when maybe most people it, or listening to the started hunting growing up out west, three yards was kind of like that magical mark that that's a far shot, but it's doable shot, you know, shot that you can make, and it's kind of in some instances was the range that a lot of elk or deer might particularly be at now that three hundred yard you know, if I remember back, I

probably would some of my rifles we would sight in it like three inches high at a hundred or four inches high at a hundred, and then we kind of just eyeball or guess the yardage of the animals because what we didn't have was laser range finders. They either didn't exist, or we didn't have them, or the technology

wasn't good enough to even really work that well. So we would just estimate range and line up our shot and shoot and things would look either too far or too close, and over the years, or to me or even just in general people, there was probably a lot of more missed animals or even potentially wounded animals, just based on like guessing the range. There's so many times where I'll be walking up a canyon, I think how far is that? You know that's got to be four

hundred yards and it's to fifty. Or you look at and you know that's gotta be three hundred yards and it's seven hundards. In the mountains, man, it can be very difficult to judge ranges, especially when you're looking across the canyon or on the same hillside. You know, on the same hillside things always look a lot closer, but when you're looking across the canyon, things often look further. So, you know, we didn't have this ability for what I

would consider precision shooting. It was a lot more guesswork and a lot less hundred percent knowledge of where your bullets going. So when I talk about longer range shooting or precision extended range shooting. And I'm not necessarily talking about shooting a thousand yards, but I am talking about at every yard, and you're shooting knowing exactly where that bullets going. So whether you've got a hundred yard shot, three hundred yard shot, or a five hundred yard shot,

you know the drop of your rifle. You know you're hold in your point of impact and where that bullet is going to end up, and because of that, you can take a more precise, more ethical shot. Now, I definitely have seen the rise in popularity over the years of you know, extreme long range shooting, shooting at eight nine yards, and I've also seen the rise of just the backlash and the opposite of that as well. You

know where I personally stand. I mean, when I'm hunting, I like to get as close as possible, but when I'm shooting or practicing, I love to keep an enjoyment of shooting my rifle and shooting it at far ranges keeps it interesting, exciting and as fun and makes those close shots seem super easy when you're out practicing a lot and shooting wafer grid distances. Let's just break down some of the yardages and what maybe will kind of classify them. So I would say it depends where you're from.

But three hundred fifty yards we'll call a far shot, and then three fifty it maybe we'll call that long range, and then you know, five hundred plus we'll just call that really long range. So me personally, I think that with the modern rifles, with the right rifle for the right application, you know, the right caliber and the right bullet and everything's right. You know, five hundred yards with most rifles is very doable shot these days, with the

right practice, knowledge and everything. Yes, guns can shoot further, yes they that is far, but that's kind of like my personal benchmark of what's too far for me personally. Can I shoot my rifle a thousand yards? Yes? I can. Do I shoot animals a thousand yards? Me? Personally, No, I don't. Is it possible? Yes, So there's always these back and force but I don't want to get too

deep into that. I just want to acknowledge that and then kind of move on because I think that what the real value of what I'm talking about here is just understand your rifle equipment to make those good shots. And that way, if you are out and have a hunting situation where a deer or elk or whatever steps out at three four you can make a precise, exact shot, and because of that, you will be more effective at both harvesting and more successful because you know that you're

going to hit what you're shooting at. We're gonna first start with the equipment portion of it. Well, well, let's break it down into the categories. I guess first we're gonna go You need a rifle obviously, and that rifle is going to have ammunition, and then you need a scope. On top of that rifle, you also need a range finder and something to steady your shot. Let's start with the rifle. Most most rifles out there now, they're built fairly well, you know I I prefer a more precision

type rifle. So when I practice and shoot out at the range at further yards, I've got a sub all my rifles or sub m A. So what an m o A is is a minute of angle or essentially, in layman's terms, an inch at a hundred yards, So it's kind of a standard. It's actually not exactly an inch, but we don't need to go into too much detail for what we're talking about We're talking about holding an inch group in a hundred yards, and then generally that kind of factors out as the distance goes. It maintains

that inch per hundred yards. But I think, you know, most production rifles now should shoot at least at that If you've got a rifle that shoots one m o A, you're probably pretty good at shooting out to five yards or even practicing it further ranges. But the better the rifle, the better your groups will be at those extended ranges. Now, a lot of that is also going to come down to matching the right ammunition to your rifle, and what that is is you got to think about it like this.

You know, every gun might shoot a little bit of AMMO a little bit different, but you also need to find a bullet that not only shoots well out of your rifle, but has good performance when hunting. Me personally, you know, I have shot pretty much every caliber out there, almost every make of rifle, and I've shot a lot of different bullets. I've shot everything from match grade precision amm O to you know, core lock hunting bullets, and I try to find the sweet spot in between for

the rifle that I shoot. I look for ammunition that is both accurate but also has what I would consider killing powers. So a lot of the really high BC bullets don't really and there's a lot more on the market now than you know when I started out. But the ballistic coefficient of a lot of bullets that shoot really well for further ranges may not necessarily be the best for hunting. So I try to find that good mix of a bullet that shoots well, has a good

ballistic coefficiency, but also has great hunting performance. You know. I think once you've got your rifle, the thing that has advanced the technology of just precision shooting at any distance, in my opinion, outside of the rifle, has got to be the optics, both on the rifle as well as

the advancements of range finders. If you know the exact distance of your target, and you have a scope that you know the holdovers or you know, can adjust for that exact range, overall, you're gonna be a lot more accurate. So when we're talking about scopes, there's a couple of different options out there. I like any scope that has I actually use an adjustable turret scope, So I've got

I shoot a lot of Vortex stuff. One of the scopes that I've used for years was the Vortex Viper HSLR, which is just kind of a lighter version of five to sixteen power magnification adjustable turret and mostly a lock t windage cap and exposed elevation turret, so the elevation turret. If you're kind of new to this whole thing, I mean I start talking about this stuff is stuff that I've talked about in every hunting camp ever, so stuff

that I feel like a lot of people know. But also I know a lot of people listening to this podcast or kind of like new to some of this stuff, and maybe a lot of you maybe have been hunting a long time and you know, see people with this kind of stuff but don't really know enough to jump into it or haven't taken the time to research a lot of it. So I'm going to kind of do some basics, but also just some info for everyone as well.

So actually the scope that I just started using now, and you know, some of these you can invest as much as you want into long range setups. There's guys that have twenty dollar long range rifles that are made for specific tasks for shooting targets that really far ranges. But then there's that kind of in between where you're a hunter and you're just looking to be as precise as possible at ranges that you feel comfortable at, and

that might not necessarily mean shooting five hundred yards. It might mean shooting three hundred yards, but shooting that three hundred yards exact every time scope that I've been using, you know, recently, I've I've talked about the you know, I work with Vortex, the Razor h D l h T, which is their light hunter tactical, So it's got features of the tactical but also really good for hunting. Lighter weight, locking,

elevation and windage and all that kind of stuff. A lot of the features that you want in long range shooting or precision shooting, but in just more of a hunter model. So there's those kind of scopes where you can adjust the turret and what that is I'm adjusting the actual main cross hair for the exact yardage that I'm shooting. Now, there's other scopes that are really great for hunting that are more of a holdover scope. So there's different kind of radicals every rifle scope manufacturer now

pretty much has one um they've got different names. Some of them are like steady alignes in there where they're like the BDC or the loopholes is like a Boone and Crockett radical or something of that effect. And what that is is at a certain magnification, there's your main cross air, and then there's other lines or marks on below that main cross air that represent different yardages. And there's so much technical stuff when it comes to some

of this. So I'm trying to do a brief rundown overview right now, but for most of those it's not a first focal plane scope. So what happens is as you adjust the zoom, you know, the value that those represent changes. So mostly they work when they're on full magnification. But that's another great option, especially if you don't want to have to get super technical with the moving a turret and all that kind of stuff. You can shoot

your gun at high power magnification. Their lines in your scope that will represent varying yardages based on your bullet, your rifle caliber and whatever, and those scopes can be put on any gun and then through practice and shooting you'll know what each one of those lines represents, so when you're out in the field, you can use that as your hold over, so you'll hold over the back of the animal, use a different crossair in the scope for different yardages. Now, the other thing we're gonna talk

about laser range finders. I mean, to be able to show you precise you need to know the exact distance and knowing that exact distance and then knowing what that exact distance represents in your rifle. So that's the other step of it is either having shot it and knowing what those ballistic lines mean, or also using in conjunction if you're going to be shooting a lot, either a ballistics app or what we call a dope chart or a drop chart which shows the drops and how to

compensate for the drop. So that's the equipment and everything in a nutshell. Now we're going to get to the fun part of the actual going out and shooting your rifle. When it comes to taking a shot, therefore, basics that pretty much doesn't matter. The range whether you're shooting it a hundred yards or seven hundred yards are the same, So you first have to know the range, then you have to know your holdover or your drop compensation. Then you have to steady the gun and then you just

have to shoot the target. Put the crossair where or by shoot the target, I mean put the crossair where it's supposed to be and squeeze the trigger. If everything else is in line and you do that correctly, you will make a perfect shot. And it really is as simple as that. The real challenge part is understanding or making sure everything involved in putting that bullet where it needs to go or the rifle is set up in

a right way. As a guide and outfitter, before we would go out and hunt, we would always have people shoot their guns at the range before we go out, and that's I think obviously you should do that anytime you travel or whatever you want to just reverify the zero. Not only am I re verifying the zero or having people reverify the zero their rifles, but my real intention is to watch the way that they shoot and see

how their gun performs. And many times that's why I've shot some any different rifles, and so because I pretty much sure always shoot everybody's rifle that comes out anyways, but most the hunters that would hunt with us pretty much had never shot more than a hundred yards, or live in a place where they can't shoot more than a hundred yards, but they're coming on an elk hunt where you know, the average elk shot might be two fifty two three hundred and that would be a long

shot or or three times as far as they've ever shot in their life. Most people, most hunters, have probably shot most of their animals or white tail hunts um within fifty yards or less. So then to come out and you know, be expected to shoot far when you've never done it before is a long, long ask. But we would always watch and see how everybody would shoot.

I mean there's so many times where I would see, you know, somebody shooting at paper hundred yards and it's just kind of the gun being all over the place, and really just looking at the way that they shoot, and you know, the rifle and they're set up in their scope and just seeing like, okay, their equipment is not that great and the way that they're studying the rifle is not that great. But then what I would

do is I always have my rifle. They're one of my rifles, and I've got a five yard gone at our range, so you know, like different yard and gongs and say, okay, what we're gonna do. We're gonna shoot my gun first day. It's like scott a muzzle break as zero kick, Like, honest to god, you will not feel this going to go off. If you're going to pull the sugar on this rifle, you have to listen to the way that I tell you to shoot it.

Otherwise it's just wasting my ami. And everyone pretty much agrees like yeah, I'll shoot that sounds good, And I'm like okay, and we're gonna shoot it. That five gone. There's no way I can hit that because but they don't realize is the center of the target is the same size no matter how far or whatever. As long as that cross hair is set right, you should hit

what you're aiming it. And I'll know if you don't or if you move, or if you didn't make a good shot, because it won't hit where it's supposed to go. So I set my rifle and say, okay, here's how you steady the rifle. You can shoot it like this. You put the sandbag, the stock is rested on something, the four ends rested. Okay, one hand on the gun. You're gonna slowly squeeze the trigger, I set the scope, and every time anybody has done that, they've center punched

the five hundred yard gone first shot. Every time, everyone goes, wow, that's incredible. I need one of these. And it's not necessarily anything that their rifle can't do, but it's just having it set up in a way that I know when I adjust the gun, and I know that yardage, and I've shot at a hundred times more than that, but at that target, you know where that bullet's gonna go,

and that's all that it really amounts to. So having the rifle where you can set it up and have something where you know the difference between shooting it two hundred and three hundred yards is substantial enough that if you have a good point of impact reference, whether it's either adjusting your main scope or having some kind of radical in your scope that shows you your hold, you're gonna be a lot more precise shooting every yardage, every distance.

So the key is to get out and start practicing some of these things. Practice shooting. When you go out to shoot, shoot at some of these further distances, and shoot at targets or gongs or whatever at the distance. But you're gonna first set up your rifle and understand the drop of your rifle and the ballistics of your bullet that correlates to your rifle and your point of impact for the varying yardages. So that can be done either through a ballistics app. There's so many different ballistics

apps out there. I know, everybody that shoots a lot has a ballistics app that they swear as better than the last. You know, maybe it just depends on the gun and the bullet and there's different formulas and all this stuff, and many of them you have to adjust and build out yourself anyways. Stuff like there's Apple users

that use like shooter app. I've used for years one called street lock because it was free and worked really good on my phone with my rifle and had good luck with it, and other people have had terrible luck with it. So there's so many just different applications and

other things. But having something like that. Even most rifle scope companies have some form of ballistics calculator there where you can kind of use your bullet data, use your elevation, use all that kind of info the inputs to get the right output, and then you're gonna take those outputs and practice them in the field and see exactly where you're shooting at different yardages. So many hunters are guilty

of this, and I think it's a time thing. But also you know, they go out, they shot the rifle last season, they shot it at the range a couple of times before they went out hunting. Then they go out hunting all season, they put it away, they go out and they shoot it the day before they go hunting. Okay, at hit paper, We're great, We're good to go. Doing

that is fine, and some people are successful. But if you go out and actually practice at varying yardages, of varying distances and varying elements and varying terrain, you are going to be so much more successful when that shot opportunity happens. You don't want to be the guy that

tells the story of how the one got away. You want to be the guy that tells a story of how you spotted something you got And you know that when you get in within range, when you pull the trigger, whatever you're shooting at is going to be hit perfectly and dropped. And that right there is what I would consider the ethical portion of this. You know, so many times people talk about the ethics of long range shooting

or shooting too far or whatever. But what I'm talking about is the ethics of being a hunter that knows that when you go out, whatever you're shooting at, if you're gonna pull the trigger, it's going to get shot perfectly and be a quick, humane kill. And that comes through repetition and practice. And I can't stress that enough that yes, you know, for many people, rifle shooting is easy and can be boring and expensive if you're just shooting at a hundred yards at paper and trying to

get a group. I personally don't like sighting in rifles that much. I don't like shooting in a hundred yards. To me, it's like trap shooting. It's like kind of you aren't good unless it's exact, and it can be tedious and a little bit boring. But what I like to do is I like to go into the field

and take practice. What would be more like sporting plays where I actually like to practice in the field varying yardages, shooting at different targets, whether it be a gong thing that I set up, or even just what I would consider like shooting roving where I'm shooting a small rocks or various objects in the distance at varying yardages in

hunting type scenarios or terrain. Now, obviously there's a lot of factors that you have to consider for this safety being the number one fire danger of being number two, and once those things have been considered, you know, having a good back stuff and other things, it's perfectly safe. I like to get out, and it's a great way to make one or two, you know, like even if you can only make one trip during the summer, you can shoot it a range. You know, practice with your

rifle as often as possible. But if you can make a trip where you can go out and shoot varying yardages in the mountains at different types of ranges, you are going to be a lot more successful in the long run. Now, what happens if you do not have a range available to you where you can shoot further distances, or you don't have the ability to do those kind of roving type shots at varying different targets or whatever.

You know, I think one thing that can really help everyone out, and I've done a podcast on shooting positions and steading the rifle. I can't remember what episode is. You have to go back and find it. But I think that there are things that you can do at even fifty or a hundred yards, and some of that is going to be one shooting your gun and knowing where those different lines or how to adjust your rifle

and figuring out the ballistics for your gun. You can do that, you know, with a chronograph and your bullet information and your scope and getting all that dialed in with your ballistics type stuff and just knowing the ballistics of your rifle. Now, the best way is to actually have the opportunity to prove that. And maybe you can only reach out to three hundred yards or find the longest range you can wherever you're at and check some of those ballistics, because they will be off a little bit,

no matter how good the ballistics calculator is. But for the most part, out to five yards, most of them are pretty dang close or close enough. For government work, maybe you might be talking like a sixteenth of an inch off or something. But for practical applications, the real thing that you want to practice is the other parts of getting the shop. So remember we go back to those four things of making any shot, knowing the range,

knowing the holdover, steadying the gun, and then shooting the target. Well, the last two you can practice at any range steadying the gun and shooting the target. And that's gonna mean. You know, if you're taking a shot that's at a further range, the gun has to be more steady than at a close range because you have less margin of error.

So figuring out and practicing steadying that rifle and shooting positions at the range, at your range where you aren't just shooting from a lead sletter a bench, but you're setting up your pack, You're you have maybe something to steady the rifle, bipod um, something to steady the butt of the rifle, like getting the full guns steady. Where when I take a shot, I like the gun to be pretty much set up where if I didn't wasn't on it or touching it, it can still be pointed

at whatever I'm shooting at. Then I just can slide in do the work of pulling the trigger. But everything else is set up as far as the drop, the

hold over, the guns steady itself. So practice getting that gun steady no matter where you are, and then knowing your different drops, and then understanding how your bullet drops, and you can even do that if you're shooting at a hundred yards, you know, try shooting the different lines and seeing where that's grouping and how high it is at a hundred and just understanding and getting good visual

picture of the ballistics of your rifle. And by doing that, you're gonna be more efficient in the field and you're gonna be more precise at varying ranges, whether it be two yards or five hundred yards. But that's just gonna really extend your effect of kill range and make you more successful when it comes to the chance of finding something, pulling the trigger and making a clean kill. This summer is really going to be the time to do the things you can to practice to make you more efficient

in the fall. And that's really what I want to cover. So if you're a rifle hunter, you've got a rifle tag, take it upon yourself to say, Okay, I'm gonna understand my gun better this year. I'm going to practice shooting more this year. It's like, even if you shoot great groups every time you go out, just go out and take some shots. Maybe I know it can be a pain in the butt to have to find a range,

to get there, to get all your stuff whatever. Maybe it's just formulating a plan of saying, Okay, I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna shoot one round a week at the target and make sure that that one shot you take is a perfect shot. But having some form of regular practice throughout the summer and committing to it. That's what I'm talking about, was just committing to a few small things you can do to make you better

when the fall season rolls around. Talking about committing to things to make you better, we're gonna also cover this month a few other things that you know, stuff that This is all stuff that I do throughout the summer, try to find time and make time for it to be better when hunting season rolls around. So next week we're gonna talk about some fitness stuff, some things you can do because a lot of the hunt comes down to your physical preparation. Whether you're in shape or out

of shape, it doesn't matter. This is for everyone, and it's things that you can do to make you better when the season comes around, so you can just get over that next ridge or be better than you are right now. And then after that will cover some things you can do for shooting your bow in more inclement weather or more like situational archery shots. I also really

appreciate all that. You know. We did the Q and A last week, and I've got a ton of more questions this week just from stuff that people have sent in, So keep those coming because we will jump on another Q and A here pretty soon. I'm trying to save some of my favorites and and answer those. But uh, yeah, you know, I mean, it's crazy out there right now.

There's a lot of stuff going on, and you know, is shaking down to be one of the most interesting years as far as just things that are happening outside of the norm. But I think there's some great opportunity this fall, and I keep looking forward to that, and I've been doing a lot of just like being prepared for when I get my opportunities this year and the things that I can do to stay sharp and stay on it. And I keep trying to do those things and focus on the time that I'll have spent in

the field ahead. So until next week, shoot straight and we will catch you later.